Young Men's Christian Association of Metropolitan Minneapolis.

• 1866: The YMCA offices are first located in the Center Block building at Intersection of Hennepin and Nicollet Avenues (assembly and meeting rooms).
• 1877 - 1888 : Market Hall building on Bridge Square; Hennepin Avenue and N. First Street (auditorium and club rooms).
• 1883: Syndicate Block building on Nicollet Avenue between 5th and 6th Streets (meeting rooms). Market Hall lease continues to 1888 -- then referred to as "Bridge Square Branch".
• 1883: Bridge Square branch established, but religious work continued in the Market Hall Building.
• 1886: Eastside branch is established in a rented room in Chute Block; corner of Central and University Avenues (Bible classes and reading). Branch suspended in 1887.
• 1887: Twenty-Sixth Street Branch is established at the corner of 26th Street and Nicollet Avenue (suite of rooms for meetings and reading). Branch discontinues when new Central Building was occupied.
• 1887: University YMCA is organized as an independent Association. Offices located in a house on 13th Avenue S.E.
• 1889: Norwegian branch is organized. Location unknown. Operates for one year.
• 1892: Central branch is established at 10th Street and Mary Place (now LaSalle Avenue). Full facility and residence.
• 1912: Southeast branch is established in Tuttle School building, corner of 14th Avenue and Talmadge Street S.E.
• 1915: Southtown branch is organized. Offices at 27th Avenue and E. Lake Street. Programs prior to 1915 were organized from the Central branch.
• 1917: University of Minnesota YMCA joins the Minneapolis YMCA organization.
• 1919: Central/Downtown branch moves to a new building at 9th and Mary Place (now LaSalle Avenue). Full facility and residence.
• 1919: Northeast branch is organized. Offices located in the Knapp Building, 2337 Central Avenue N.E.
• 1919: Northside branch is organized. Offices at 1103 - 20th Avenue N.
• 1919: West Lake branch is organized. Offices located in the Carville Building at 26 ½ W. Lake Street. First programs for the district were organized from the Central Branch beginning in 1915.
• 1923: University branch moves to the New Student Program building. 1425 University Avenue S.E.
• 1937: South Central branch is established. Offices at 26 ½ W. Lake Street.
• 1937: Roosevelt branch is organized. Offices at 2723 E. 38th Street.
• 1937: Washburn branch is organized. Offices at 4804 Nicollet Avenue S.
• 1939: Northside branch is established. Community building opens at 3300 Penn Avenue N.
• 1950: Roosevelt branch community building opens at 4100 - 28th Avenue S.
• 1951: Southtown branch community building opens at 1845 E. Lake Street.
• 1951: Washburn branch community building opens at 4816 Nicollet Avenue S.
• 1952: Northeast branch community building opens at 2304 Jackson Street N.E.
• 1954: South Central branch changes name to West Central branch.
• 1957: Washburn branch changes name to Washburn-Richfield branch.
• 1958: Minnetonka branch is organized. Offices located at 401 E. Lake Street, Wayzata.
• 1960: Northeast and Southeast branches merge to become Eastside branch.
• 1960: West Central branch community building opens at 3335 Blaisdell Avenue S.
• 1963: Washburn-Richfield branch changes name to Washburn-Richfield-Bloomington branch.
• 1964: Roosevelt and Southtown branches merge to become Hiawatha branch.
• 1969: Minnesota Valley branch is established. Offices located at 9050 Lyndale Avenue S. in Bloomington.
• 1969: West Lake and Minnetonka branches are reorganized to become West Suburban Family branch. Offices located at 1400 Fairfield Road, Minnetonka.
• 1969: Washburn-Richfield-Bloomington branch changes name to Southdale branch.
• 1970: Urban department and West Central branch combine to become Urban/West Central branch.
• 1973: Northside branch becomes Northwest branch. Suburban office/community program located at 4205 Winnetka Avenue N. in New Hope.
• 1974: North Community branch is established. Full facility
• 1975: Southdale branch full facility building opens at 7355 York Avenue S. in Edina.
• 1977: Northwest branch full facility building opens at 7601 42nd Avenue N. in New Hope.
• 1980: Eastside branch name changes to Northeast branch.
• 1980: West Suburban branch full facility building opens at 12301 Ridgedale Drive in Minnetonka.
• 1983: West Suburban branch name changes to Ridgedale branch.
• 1984: Urban/West Central branch name changes to Blaisdell branch.
• 1990: Downtown branch full facility building opens at 30 S. Ninth Street in downtown Minneapolis.
• 1995: Northeast branch name changes to Emma B. Howe Northeast Family YMCA. New community building opens on existing site at 2304 Jackson Street N.E.
• 1995: Blaisdell branch adds extensive addition to make a full facility building at present site, 3335 Blaisdell Avenue S.
• 1996: Emma B. Howe Family Branch Northtown full facility building opens at 8950 Springbrook Drive N. W., Coon Rapids.
• 1997: Minnesota Valley branch full facility building opens at Portland Avenue S., Burnsville.
• 2000: University branch moves to a new building at 1801 University Avenue S.E.
• 2005: Andover YMCA Community Center full facility building opens at 15220 Hanson Boulevard, Andover.
• 2008: Elk River branch full facility building opens at 13337 Business Center Drive NW, Elk River.

(Information taken from Breaking New Ground, Building Strong Lives: 140 Years of Youth Work with the Minneapolis YMCA by Paul Hillmer, 2006; from Builders of Men: A History of the Minneapolis Young Men's Christian Association: 1866-1936 by S. Wirt Wiley and Florence Lehmann; and from the collection).

From the guide to the Branch records, 1907-2011, (bulk 1970-1999), (University of Minnesota. Kautz Family YMCA Archives. [ymca])

• 1885: The Minneapolis YMCA recognizes that boys and young men need the same opportunities for mental, physical and spiritual and development currently offered to the men of the Minneapolis community, with programs specifically designed for that age group. The first boys-specific meetings are Friday night prayer group. An official Boys Branch/Junior Department for Boys is established later the same year, with a minimum age of 12.
• 1900: The first Minneapolis YMCA Boys Camp is held on the shores of Lake Minnetonka, with 47 boys attending.
• 1901: Working Boys Night School is established for the boys of families who needed them to work rather than go to school during the day. The program expands to over 100 boys, until 1908 when the public school system began offering night classes.
• 1902: W. G. Cartlich is hired as the first full-time Boys' Work Director for the YMCA Minneapolis.
• 1903: The first official building devoted to the Boys Division is established, directly adjacent to the Central Branch building, opens.
• 1908: The first Minneapolis YMCA owned resident camp, Icaghowan opens.
• 1909: Hi-Y Clubs are organized in the fall. Short for "High School Y," Hi-Y clubs are designed to extend high standard of Christian living among the students of each of the five Minneapolis high schools. Participation is limited to boys selected for their leadership in academics, athletics, social life and other student activities.
• 1938: John Werness, a member of the Minneapolis' first Y Men's Club, establishes the Christmas Tree program. Selling Christmas trees during the holiday season provides money for camp scholarships for disadvantaged youth who would otherwise be unable to attend summer camp. Despite initial skepticism, this program is a huge success.
• 1946: YMCA Youth in Government program is established. The original purpose of the program is to prepare young men for political leadership by providing "guidance, training, and experience in theory and practice of determining public policy."
• 1947: Y-Indian Guides program is established. Designed for grade-school age boys, this program is created to foster relationships between fathers and sons by providing joint activities focused on learning and engaging with Native American cultures.
• 1960 - 1969 : Girls are integrated into the Minneapolis YMCA Youth programs.
• 1968: Urban Department is formed. The program is designed to provide inner city youth with a variety of positive activities, experiences, and role-models. Junior Sports and the Summer Olympics programs are offshoots of this group.
• 1988: Model United Nations program begins. A sister program to the Minnesota Youth in Government, the Model UN focuses on conflict resolution, art of negotiation, diplomacy, and a respect for diversity.

(Information taken from Breaking New Ground, Building Strong Lives: 140 Years of Youth Work with the Minneapolis YMCA by Paul Hillmer, 2006; from Builders of Men: A History of the Minneapolis Young Men's Christian Association: 1866-1936 by S. Wirt Wiley and Florence Lehmann; and from the collection).

From the guide to the Boys' work and youth services records, 1914-1995, (bulk 1940-1969), (University of Minnesota. Kautz Family YMCA Archives. [ymca])

• 1885: In 1885, Sumner F. Dudley, a YMCA secretary from Newburgh, New York, takes seven boys to nearby Camp Baldhead on Orange Lake for eight days. Within a few years, the camp becomes known as Camp Dudley, and is the oldest organized camp with a continuous history in the United States. From this modest beginning, the YMCA camp movement grows and expands all across the United States.
• 1899: The first attempt of a Minneapolis YMCA boys camp is held on the Baptist Assembly grounds in Mound, Minnesota. In the following years, it is held at the Muskey Farm, a part of the Longyear estate 1930-1939.
• 1900: The first Minneapolis YMCA Boys Camp is held on the shores of Lake Minnetonka, with 47 boys attending. The following year, 1901, the number increases to 85 campers.
• 1902: The Minneapolis YMCA Boys Camp moves to Lake Francis, Elysian, Minnesota, but the distance discourages campers.
• 1903 - 1905 : The venue changes once again, this time to Clear Lake, Minnesota. It is becoming very clear to the organization at this time that without a permanent camp site and proper equipment, it will be impossible to develop a camping program in any substantial way.
• 1906 - 1907 : The YMCA leases a summer club house along the southern shore of Lake Calhoun in order to establish a young men's residential camp; but has to be abandoned after the first year due to the encroaching urban sprawl.
• 1907: The first Minneapolis YMCA-owned resident camp, Icaghowan, opens with five acres on Green Lake near Chisago City, Minnesota.
• 1915 - 1916 : In the summer seasons at Camp Icaghowan, four camps of two weeks each are conducted with a total attendance of 103 boys.
• 1919: In the summer season, a group of 380 working boys camp in a rented shack on Cedar Lake.
• 1919 - 1923 : A group of young men camp at Bush Lake in 1919 and 1920, but by 1921 the rented site is taken over by the General Offices from the Young Men's Division, and run on a city-wide basis serving 311 boys from various groups, including the Americanization group, dormitory boys, church groups, and working boys.
• 1922: Camp Menogyn, Chippewa for "to grow everywhere", is added to the YMCA Minneapolis camping program. Wilder than Camp Icaghowan, this camp is located 35 miles north of Grand Marais, Minnesota. It is designed for use in August only as a long-term camp with a city-wide enrollment.
• 1924: An attempt to purchase 10 acres of the E.J. Fairfield property on Lake Minnetonka is made, but the plan is quickly abandoned when adjoining property owners (several of whom are supporters and contributors to the Minneapolis YMCA) object to having a camp on that site. For the summer, an alternative site on Lake Minnetonka is lent to the Young Men's Division by former Minneapolis Mayor J. E. Meyers – Enchanted Island.
• 1925 - 1926 : Camp Menogyn is closed for summer seasons in 1925 and 1926 due to lack of enrollment.
• 1927: Camp Warren is purchased through the generous Dayton Endowment, two hundred acres of virgin timberland near Evelyth, Minnesota, near Half Moon and Pleasant Lakes. The property is purchased from a Mrs. O.B. Warren and the camp is named on behalf of her husband. Six cabins are initially built on the property to provide overflow from Camp Icaghowan. Camp Warren fills to capacity from the very first year.
• 1929: Camp Warren is officially dedicated on July 8, 1929.
• 1929: Camp Ihduhapi, (EE-doo-hop-ee), of Lakota origin for "Independence," is established on land purchased from Mrs. Annie Forbes. Totally 31.18 acres, the heavily wooded site located on Lake Independence has a 600-foot bathing beach.
• 1929: Camp Menogyn is open for the entire summer. Due to the high enrollment organized by districts, the time-allotment each group spends here has to be shortened. By 1934, Camp Menogyn is a "post graduate camp," the only camp in the state of Minnesota to offer a wilderness experience to challenge older boys and young men.
• 1930: Camp Ihduhapi opens on July 31, 1930, and becomes the first fully winterized YMCA Minneapolis camp, hosting a main lodge, 14 sleeping cabins, dining hall, handicraft cabin, in addition to other buildings. Located 25 miles west of Minneapolis, the camp eventually expands to over 172 acres by 1961.
• 1934: Camp Menogyn moves to a new site in Cook County on the north shore of West Bearskin Lake on 35 acres. Containing a bluff overlooking three pine-covered islands, the site is more level and includes two calm bays. The site is thought to have the necessary facilities for training campers before taking them out on wilderness canoe trips. This new site is purchased through a 1933 camping operations budget surplus and a generous donation from Russell H. Bennett.
• 1936: Due to the interest of boys younger than 10 (the age limit set at Camp Warren upon opening), in the summer of 1936 a Cub Camp opens, and eight log cabins are built to scale for the purpose.
• 1948: Camp Menogyn is enlarged and made more complete during the 1948 camping season.
• 1949: After serving youth on Green Lake for 42 years, in 1949 Camp Icaghowan moves to a new site on Lake Wappogassett near Amery, Wisconsin.
• 1950: The first day camp property – Green Triangle – is established on a few acres of Camp Committee member Don Willis' farm, near Orono, Minnesota. It becomes the first day camp recognized by the American Camping Association.
• 1954: Camp Manitou, another day camp, is established, operating out of the North Side branch.
• 1955: Camp Kici Yapi, day camp, is established, operating out of the Northeast Y branch, and by 1969 serves four branches, including Hiawatha, Minnesota Valley, West Central, and Southdale.
• 1956: A day camp program is formed at the Kelley Farm by Roosevelt branch.
• 1958: Camp Christmas Tree on Dutch Lake is donated by an anonymous donor, and dedicated in the summer of 1958.
• 1958: The day camp program composed of 1, 727 campers through the Minneapolis YMCA in the 958 season, demonstrating phenomenal growth.
• 1959: The 1959 resident camp breakdown of 237,000 total participants included 65% boys, 17% girls, 11% adult men and women, and 5% YMCA leaders and staff.
• 1963: Camp Monticello, with 1,000 acres on Mud, Long, First, and Bertram Lakes is sold to the Minneapolis YMCA by the Lehigh-Portland Cement Company. This camp is used as the location for the Summer Work Training program from 1964-1967.
• 1963: Camp Kabetogama is formed, with 90 acres of wilderness land 25 miles southeast of International Falls, Minnesota, donated by Mr. and Mrs. Enoch Sward.
• 1968: The first co-oed camping group is taken to Camp Menogyn by Gary Lewis, executive of several branches during 1960-1979.
• 1970 - 1979 : Girls are integrated into the Minneapolis YMCA Camp programs, "in order to meet the growing need for service to the total family". All camps except Kici Yapi, Ihduhapi, and Warren are now open to girls. Over the decade, the last remaining camps are also integrated.
• 1984: A single parent family camp is established at YMCA Camp Ihduhapi.
• 1985: The YMCA World Camp program celebrates 100 years, with 50 US campers and 50 others from around the world. Before departing to Camp Northland near Ely, Minnesota, the campers spend the day at Camp Warren.
• 2002: The Camp Streefland horse program, the Streefland Colts, is transitioned to Camp Kici Yapi.
• 2003: On December 22, 2003, a major fire at Camp Streefland destroys the barn, which serves as the central gathering place and program center. Between 2004-2007, renovations are completed at Camp Streefland, including a new program center with infirmary and office, sewer and water updates, and general camp ground upkeep.
• 2010: As of summer 2010, in addition to the long-standing residential camps, the Minneapolis YMCA also operates six regional day camps, including: Camp Kici Yapi, Camp Christmas Tree, Camp Streefland, Camp Guy Robinson, Camp Manitou, and Camp Ihduhapi.

(Information taken from Breaking New Ground, Building Strong Lives: 140 Years of Youth Work with the Minneapolis YMCA by Paul Hillmer, 2006; from Builders of Men: A History of the Minneapolis Young Men's Christian Association: 1866-1936 by S. Wirt Wiley and Florence Lehmann; and from the collection).

From the guide to the Camping services records, 1914-2008, (bulk 1955-1975), (University of Minnesota. Kautz Family YMCA Archives. [ymca])

• 1866: The YMCA Minneapolis is organized by Russell Conwell; a young lawyer recently arrived to the Minneapolis area. Conwell, with a few other local businessmen, begin a noon-day prayer meeting in his office. The first YMCA offices are located in the Center Block building at Intersection of Hennepin and Nicollet Avenues (assembly and meeting rooms).
• 1877: The first Articles of Incorporation are adopted on June 11, 1877. The organization's legal name is "Young Men's Christian Association of Minneapolis."
• 1883: An amendment to the first Articles of Incorporation is recorded in the office of the Registrar of Deeds of Hennepin County, on July 9, 1883. The organization's legal name is changed to "The Young Men's Christian Association of the City of Minneapolis."
• 1885: The first boys-specific meetings begin as a Friday night prayer group. An official Boys Branch/Junior Department for Boys is established later the same year, with a minimum age of 12.
• 1891: As the original paperwork was not filed properly with the state, on July 15, 1891 the organization's paperwork is re-filed under the new act passed through the state legislature recognizing defectively organized existing corporations, such as the YMCA of Minneapolis.
• 1892: The importance of having a physical space for the YMCA to conduct services and programs is ever a concern. Branches are formed based on the individual needs of each community, but the first building built and owned by the organization is on the corner of Tenth Street and Mary Place, is purchased in 1887 and finally complete in 1892.
• 1900: The first Minneapolis YMCA Boys Camp is held on the shores of Lake Minnetonka, with 47 boys attending.
• 1908: The first Minneapolis YMCA-owned resident camp, Icaghowan, opens with five acres on Green Lake near Chisago City, Minnesota.
• 1909: Hi-Y Clubs are organized in the fall. Short for "High School Y," Hi-Y clubs are designed to extend high standard of Christian living among the students of each of the five Minneapolis high schools. Participation is limited to boys selected for their leadership in academics, athletics, social life and other student activities.
• 1914 - 1918 : World War I affects the YMCA both on the national and local level. In Minneapolis, more than 185 men and women are recruited for active War service of the Y. Creation of programs during this time are designed to aid in the war effort, including the increase of civilian food supplies and the University of Minnesota YMCA student army program.
• 1917: The University of Minnesota YMCA, established in 1887 as a separate entity, joins the Minneapolis YMCA organization, serving as one of several branches serving the Minneapolis community.
• 1919: The main branch of the Minneapolis YMCA, Central/Downtown, moves to a new building at 9th and Mary Place (now LaSalle Avenue). Full facility and residence.
• 1922: Camp Menogyn, Chippewa for "to grow everywhere", is added to the YMCA Minneapolis camping program. Wilder than Camp Icaghowan, this camp is located 35 miles north of Grand Marais, Minnesota.
• 1927: Camp Warren is purchased - two hundred acres of virgin timberland near Evelyth, Minnesota, near Half Moon and Pleasant Lakes.
• 1929: Camp Ihduhapi is established. Totally 31.18 acres, the heavily wooded site located on Lake Independence has a 600-foot bathing beach.
• 1936: A book written by YMCA insiders S. Wirt Wiley and Florence Lehmann, entitled "Builders of Men: A History of the Minneapolis Young Men's Christian Association: 1866-1936" is published, outlining the history of the organization up to 1936.
• 1938: In 1938, Minneapolis became the first Association to establish the Christmas Tree Sales program – selling Christmas trees to support YMCA camp opportunities for disadvantaged children. The program is created by John Werness, a member of the first Y-Men's Club here in Minneapolis. The program spreads across the YMCA footprint, raising more than $20 million worldwide by 1995.
• 1946: YMCA Youth in Government program is established in Minnesota, based on the New York YMCA program. The original purpose of the program is to prepare young men for political leadership by providing "guidance, training, and experience in theory and practice of determining public policy."
• 1947: Indian Guide program is established in the Twin Cities. Designed for grade-school age boys, this program is created to foster relationships between fathers and sons by providing joint activities focused on learning and engaging with Native American cultures.
• 1950: The first day camp property – Green Triangle – is established on a few acres of Camp Committee member Don Willis' farm, near Orono, Minnesota. It becomes the first day camp recognized by the American Camp(ing) Association, a community of camp professionals who ensure the quality of camp programs.
• 1960 - 1969 : Girls are integrated into the Minneapolis YMCA Youth programs.
• 1964: The YMCA Minneapolis executes a re-organization, recognizing "a growing and expanding YMCA serving in a progressive metropolitan community must be forward thinking and flexible enough to meet the challenges of today as well as those of tomorrow..." Amendments to the Association's By-Laws and Articles of Incorporation are applied. One of the major changes involves another name change, this time to "Young Men's Christian Association of Metropolitan Minneapolis." Major changes include: voting rights were extended to additional members; the creation of a governing body of 600 members; creation of a Governor's Council, which includes "key" men within the community to represent the Minneapolis community at large; closer coordination of the organization and the branch locations; Branch Board of Management Chairmen become voting members on the General Board' and leadership responsibilities of the Association's chief lay officer is divided between a "President of the Association" and a "Chairman of the General Board."
• 1966: The organization celebrates 100 years serving the Minneapolis community.
• 1968: Urban Department is formed. The program is designed to provide inner city youth with a variety of positive activities, experiences, and role-models. Junior Sports and the Summer Olympics programs are offshoots of this group.
• 1988: Model United Nations program begins. A sister program to the Minnesota Youth in Government, the Model UN focuses on conflict resolution, art of negotiation, diplomacy, and a respect for diversity.
• 1990: The Downtown branch full facility building opens at 30 S. Ninth Street in downtown Minneapolis.
• 2006: To celebrate 140 years of service to the Minneapolis community, a book entitled "Breaking New Ground, Building Strong Lives: 140 Years of Youth Work with the Minneapolis YMCA" is published. Written by Paul Hillmer, the book outlines the history of the Minneapolis YMCA, focusing on the Boys' work and youth services.
• 2012: The YMCA Minneapolis and YMCA St. Paul merge on January 1, 2012, becoming the fifth largest YMCAs in the nation. The YMCA of Greater Twin Cities operates 22 full-facility YMCAs, six community program sites, seven overnight camps, 10 day camps and more than 90 child-care, preschool and school-age care locations across 13 counties stretching into Western Wisconsin.

(Information taken from Breaking New Ground, Building Strong Lives: 140 Years of Youth Work with the Minneapolis YMCA by Paul Hillmer, 2006; from Builders of Men: A History of the Minneapolis Young Men's Christian Association: 1866-1936 by S. Wirt Wiley and Florence Lehmann; and from the collection).

From the guide to the General administrative records, 1886-2006, (bulk 1970-1999), (University of Minnesota. Kautz Family YMCA Archives. [ymca])